Ok, I see some things I've been doing wrong, but this is a lot to take in, so I'll have to report back after giving it a try or two and seeing if I notice a difference. I'm SO thankful to you, littlepenguin, for the detailed post!!!
you're very welcome. hate to see folks burning their stuffs. and yes, it is a lot to take in, as said earlier, it's an art for pete's sake - it took me I think 3+ solid months of everyday smoking to finally get it right. so, practice makes perrrrfect.
Yeah, it turns solid VERY quickly. Like, it's all I can do to rotate it without it solidifying as soon as it's not directly above the flame with each pass. You say that's a good sign for quality, right? This stuff was weird. When I got it, it was a bunch of shards in the bag, then they all stuck together like they must've been the moist/sticky kind, but they since dried again, so I've got one massive chunk that I have to break pieces off of.
Yes, snap back (solidifying) should happen pretty darn quick once the heat is removed, depending upon the amount in the bowl, and the thickness of the glass. It should never take longer than about 10 seconds unless the bowl is huge and super hot. If it's ever taking more than about 20 seconds, it's likely junk. As you see more, you'll notice the patterns in the snap backs that are made - what's normal/good and what's questionable.
If possible, you should avoid acquiring the product when it's not fully dried. You're putting extra dough in your provider's pocket. The acetone wash was probably not completely dried at that point, which is a huge plus for the provider. If he/she sells it super fast while it's still wet, they will make more money because, well, it's wet, therefore adding extra weight. It's not a gigantic difference, but hey, it's my money.
I just bought this pipe when I started with this batch like a month ago. By now, it's kinda dirty, but that's not always been a problem. I'm lazy and haven't cleaned it yet, but twice I gave up on the contents of the bowl and scraped them out with a lock pick that happened to fit perfectly into the hole on top.
As I said in my first post, I am anal about having a clean bowl. I can't stand to see a black old nasty pipe, I guess I'm a snob - I won't smoke outta that shit. Yuk. Not only does it taste and look gross, all that black shit eats your shiny new product - we don't want that now, do we?? So, at this point, if you're gonna keep smoking, it's time for a pipe clean. First, you have all that deliciouso cloudy goodness built up on the stem of the pipe, right? Well yeah, it's yours, so let's smoke it! Your candle should work well for this - start at the mouth of the bowl, and twirl the pipe around slowly above the flame (you can hold it a bit closer to the pipe now, closer than when you would be smoking) with the pipe at an angle (bubble towards floor, mouth piece pointing towards ceiling), so the stuff will drip down into the neck. (Mind you, this takes a little while, usually takes me 10-15 minutes total, including one 5 minute cooling time - the glass is thicker in the stem and it takes a little bit to melt all that junk down.) After it gets hot, you'll start to notice the cloudy turn clear. Just slowly keep twisting the pipe around and keep going down the stem. The pipe will start to smoke a little bit. I, personally, do not smoke this stuff. Some do. I just let it go. If you've been smoking out of that thing for a month, you should have a pretty good resin ball to smoke off, without missing the tad bit of smoke you ignored while cleaning your pickle. I stop after a tad more than 3/4 of the way to the bub. Then I set it down to let it cool. I usually try to prop it up a bit with the bub facing down, so if stuff wants to slither into the bowl, I don't want to discourage that in any way

Wait about 5+ minutes. That thing is HOT HOT HOT. After the stem has cooled quite a bit, repeat the above steps except starting where you left off after the first round. Get that lump of goodness to plop down in your bowl and just smoke on it - this stuff always gets me soooooooper high. Not sure why, maybe a mixture of different batches, but whatever it is, me likes. After you've smoked all the junk outta there, I soak my pip in hot soapy water for like 10 minutes. (This really isn't necessary, it's just what I do.) Then I grab some q-tips and cigarette ash (which is a gentle abrasive and gets all that black shit off like mr. freakin' clean, yo.) After you're confident you've cleaned it, rinse out really well with warm water. If you want your pip dry really really fast, use a blowdryer. I use q-tips.
As far as quality, I've been doing meth for a while and have seen many batches. This is among the top based on looks and effect when snorted, so I don't think it's junk. But it does form bubbles of stuff on the inside of the bowl where the smoke would rise toward the hole, which I read was a sign it's cut with MSM?
honestly, I have never seen what you're describing before....the only bubbles I ever see if if the meth itself is bubbling in the bowl because it's being overheated...
This is such a precise art.... I had the same luck with needles, which ended up being the reason I quit using them. I couldn't get high unless someone else was around to hit my veins. But I'm better off not doing that shit anyway.
damn right, son.
Idk if I can manage with a lighter. The flame from my candle is bigger than and theoretically hotter than (based on color) that from my lighter, so I'm just going to continue with the candle.
you do what you gotta do, my friend. if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I'll try packing larger bowls also. I usually put a tiny amount because I know I'll turn it brown and want to add some fresh, so the bowl grows haha. Do you suggest putting in shards or crushed? I feel like it would heat more evenly if I crushed it at least into small pieces, because I have some big shards.
Whaa? I never add any new stuff to a bowl that's not totally finished. That's just like....i dunno....something, lol. Maybe it's just me. I guess I just love the pure taste of the first couple hits that I don't want it effected by some old junk swirling around below it.
I put the chunks in as chunks. Remember where I said that you would melt your initial bowl not until it's all melted, but until most of it is melted, but then keep rotating the bowl because the residual heat in the bowl and product will melt the rest of the chunk. I actually prefer to have chunks, 1) if it's chunky when you get it, it's less likely to be cut with some powdery grainy shit at the bottom of your bag. 2) for me, it actually melts easier and has less tendency to burn when I start with a chunk as opposed to the scrapings of the bottom of a bag.
Drumroll please.....
....SUCCESS! I'm still using the candle. I packed a bigger bowl than usual. I was very patient and held it as far away as you suggested, littlepenguin. The only thing is, the first couple of hits I started as soon as I saw smoke, and I got nothing into my lungs. Plus even though I kept it over the flame and kept rolling, when I finished my hit, it was solidified again. So it's like it's being very slow to melt. So I had to try again and try to get more of it to be liquid before I took a hit, which meant a teeny tiny bit of smoke was wasted while waiting, but that's ok, because I'm getting good hits.
I shoul dhave been more specific in my first post, but you seem to have figured out what I was gonna tell ya - yeah, you're gonna waste a tad of smoke, but IMO, it's nothing to fret about. I wait about 3-5 seconds after I see the initial smoke, even longer if the bowl is gigantor.
his stuff is seriously all but impossible to keep liquified, especially with a large amount in the bowl, because unless I twirl really quickly (which I've found out was part of my problem as well, going slower like you suggested helped) it just solidified on one side while I'm liquifying the other and vice versa.
do you have a little gram scale? preferably one that goes to the hundreths place, but if you just have a regular one that goes to the tenths place, that'd work too. Try weighing out a bowl before you smoke it. try 0.03 g in a bowl and see how that works. also I forgot to mention - when heating the bowl, like i originally said, go slowly at first, but once about 3/4 of it is liquid and there's still some solid, I twirl the bowl really fast. not like out of control, but at least 2 turns a second. Briskly, if you will. This might help. And keep twirling the bowl a little bit even after you've inhaled, spreading out the goods in the bowl so it's not just drying all in once spot. If you try you can get kind of a thin coating over most of the bottom of the bowl if you just spread it out when it's still hot, immediately following your hit. Also, take very sloooooooooow inhales. Super slow. It's not gonna make you cough like weed, so you can take it in your lungs pretty well.
Edit: Still having trouble going to the extreme of not wanting to burn it so I end up not getting a hit at all, but I'm getting better. This is a very delicate art. I did just happen to get the most impressive monster hit I've ever taken of any drug in my life, though! It was difficult getting it all to melt, and I let some smoke be wasted while waiting, but once the entire amount was liquid and had been for a few seconds, I was able to get a good hit. I have to keep reminding myself not to roll too fast. In fact, I have to keep some heat kind of directly on the really thick areas for a second or two before they'll even respond at all (maybe TOO big a bowl or too thick a pipe?)I do think I'll switch to a lighter when I can find a good, reliable one, because the candle flame wiggles too much with my breath.
Yeah, it does sound like you have one of those super thick pipes. I have one too. They're fun once in awhile, but even as an experienced smoker, I usually end up burning the shit in those because they take too damn long to heat, and the residual heat in the bowl hangs around for a whole lot longer than a typical pip. Most pips I see are super thin in the bulb area. See if you can find one of these, I bet you'd have a better experience.
As for finding a good reliable lighter? There is NOTHING better than a good old BIC lighter. I am positive the person that created bic lighters was a tweaker. Cuz they're perfect. Trust me. And speaking of your breath wiggling the flame - are you in a drafty room? If you are, this will definitely cause your dope to burn, because it will effect the way you hold the flame. Make sure you're not by any fans, open windy windows, etc.
Edit #2: So I notice that the times when I get the good hits is when the smoke feels warm entering my throat and the pile stays liquid for more than a brief second after removed from flame, so obviously I need to be getting it good and hot. Why would it be that I'm having trouble getting it hot? Because I'm using a candle with the thick pipe, maybe?
YES. Or is that still just my own impatience, hitting it before it's good and warm (although if I wait any longer, half the bowl will have evaporated into the air)? I also notice the first hit after I pack or after I pick back up once letting it cool down doesn't go so well, and they steadily get better, which reinforces the idea that it needs to be getting hotter. Do I need to give it more time over the flame but try to roll it/take it away as soon as it tries to smoke then resume to keep from wasting my shit? Or maybe I really do just have too much in the bowl?
I'm not sure. I need some extra advice on WHY it's behaving the way it is, though I can't thank you enough for giving me enough info to get good hits, regardless of what I have to go through to get them! I accidentally bought more than I wanted, so I don't mind some trial and error, as long as I actually do get high.
As i said before, practice makes perfect. You'll naturally figure out the distance you need to hold the lighter away for each successive hit (first hit of the bowl, second, third, so on) yes - as the bowl nears the end, it needs a little more heat. And also I have noticed different batches of dope have different temperments. Some batches smoke up super fast and some batches it seems like it takes a lot longer to heat them. For real tho, that last paragraph makes me think you're WAYYY OVERTHINKING IT! just relax! smoke a bowl! lean back, read some bluelight, take your tiiiiiiiime, there's no rush. Reeeeeeelaxxxx. But my main points of advice as of now are: GET A BIC. DITCH THE CANDLE. and if you can find a smaller thinner pipe, get one.